Uzbek human rights activist arrested

A human rights activist and prominent critic of the Uzbek government was arrested at her home last week, it was revealed today.

Details of the arrest of Mukhtabar Tojibaeva, which happened hours before she had been due to attend a human rights conference, were disclosed by Human Rights Watch.

She had criticised the May 13 killings in the eastern town of Andijan, where witnesses alleged at least 500 unarmed protesters were shot by government forces earlier this year.

It happened after protesters stormed a prison in the town, freeing 23 businessmen who had been charged with "religious fundamentalism" and seizing local government offices.

Ms Tojibaeva was arrested when 16 police officers, some of whom were reported to have been carrying automatic weapons, entered her home at around 11pm.

The activist, who heads the Fiery Hearts human rights organisation, was charged with extortion. She is understood to be in custody pending an investigation.

Human rights groups said the arrest was a politically motivated attempt to stop her work, and came immediately after a former employee of Ms Tojibaeva visited her home to settle a small debt.

It is not the first time she has been detained in circumstances condemned by rights organisations. On the day of the Andijan killings, she was held for three days, although no official arrest record was issued.

In an interview on September 22 with Ozodlik, Radio Liberty's Uzbek service, she said pressure on rights activists had intensified since the Uzbek supreme court began the trials of 15 people accused of involvement at Adijan.

"We do not need a government that does not follow its own laws," she said, adding that she believed local authorities had been ordered to silence independent political activists.

Ms Tojibaeva had been due to attend a human rights conference in Dublin on the day after her arrest.

Andrew Anderson, the deputy director of Front Line Defenders, which organised the conference, said: "We believe these charges have been fabricated to silence her. It is clear this is part of a government clampdown on opponents and rights activists."

Holly Cartner, the Europe and Central Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said Ms Tojibaeva's arrest showed "the relentlessness of the Uzbek government's campaign to silence independent voices after Andijan."

The human rights watchdog called on the international community to press for her immediate release.